Survival In The City
Survival In The City is an open-world action adventure game developed by Tanoshii Urban Entertainment . It was released in turn 38 for PS3, Xbox 360, PC, and PC/Mac (Digital). The game is currently the largest open-world game in Game Sim. Gameplay The City Survival In The City is truly an open world action-adventure game. Players can travel around to wherever they want from the beginning, although it may be dangerous to travel to parts of the city at particular points of the story (gangsters will shoot at you after the first act when you are in Trafford). Many buildings can be entered and have interiors with NPCs in them. Houses are gained at certain parts of the story and can be customized; players can place household items wherever they choose and can upgrade items as the game progresses. Criminal Level If a player is seen committing a crime, text will appear onscreen telling them what criminal level they have reached. There are five levels: Petty Crook, Man of Interest, Criminal, Armed and Dangerous, and Most Wanted. Each level gained results in a larger amount of force to be trying to arrest the player. This starts with nearby police following them on-site and grows to police in the vicinity chasing the player, helicopters following them, blockades obstructing the player's path, and finally attack helicopters shooting the player and SWAT vans surrounding the player at the Most Wanted level. After the Criminal level is reached, police officers use deadly force. Vehicles Their are a large amount of cars in the game, ranging from simple four-door economy cars to sports cars to big rig trucks. Sports cars have the highest top speed and acceleration yet are harder to handle and can take the least amount of damage. Big rigs can take (and therefore deliver) more damage but have the slowest speed and acceleration. Economy cars, the most common cars in the game, are average in all areas. The cars in the game are named after developers. Weapons Players can hold six kinds of weapons: pistols, shotguns, rifles, specials, throwing weapons, and melee weapons. Pistols include 9s (commonly held by cops), Deagles, and Magums. Shotguns include Shotties, Riot Controllers (uncommonly held by cops), and Boomsticks. Rifles include M-69s, A-Kays, and Wesleys (a sniper rifle). Specials include Flamethrowers, Noob Tubes (grenade launchers), and Ottos (an RPG). In the previous lists, each gun was more powerful than the last with less ammo on the clip. Thrown weapons include grenades and molotov cocktails. Melee weapons include baseball bats, wrenches, crowbars, shovels, machetes, switchblades, and kitchen knifes. Weapons can either be bought at shops or picked up from fallen NPCs. When shooting, players can latch onto nearby cover to protect themselves. In addition, players can use a number of hand-to-hand combat tactics including punches, lariats, kicks, and tackles. Odd Jobs Odd jobs appear around the city to offer players a little cash and unlockable clothing. Odd jobs include racing, car importing (players must find cars in the city and deliver them to the importer), backyard wrestling (players are told to use certain hand-to-hand combat tactics at certain times), assassinations, driving taxi cabs, and working security at certain places. One type of each odd job can be found in each of the three main areas of the city. Currency By completing missions, odd jobs, and picking up cash dropped by dead NPCs, players can purchase weapons, cars, car modifications, and clothing. Upon getting arrested or losing all of ones health, players will lose a large sum of cash. By owing hospitals or the police money, players can go into debt which prevents them from making any purchases. Contacts After meeting contacts, The Player can call them at various points in the game. Sometimes they will either inform The Player what they know about what is going on in the story or offer to provide weapons/cars/abilities. Some contacts can refuse to talk to The Player if certain choices are made. Game Modes - Single Player - Multiplayer - Open World - Deathmatch (both team and free-for-all) - Races (both single and relays) - Escort (one team must protect an NPC VIP travel to a destination while the other team tries to kill the VIP) - Most Wanted (players/teams try to reach the highest criminal level first, with the level resetting once a player is either killed or arrested) Completion By achieving 100% completion in the game, players will receive an Izuki (fastest car in the game that can only be obtained either this way or using cheats) and a Thompson (attack helicopter) outside their first house. Tanoshii Urban Entertainment plans on holding events in multiplayer for long after the game is released. With two endings, players will have to play through the game twice to see all the possibilities. Story Describe the story of your game, if your game has one. Describe the beginning, middle, and end. Describe any important characters, events, deaths, etc.*: The game takes place in Peachland, a city in the midwest surrounded by mountains to the south and a large lake to the north. In a lower class suburb called Trafford, the main character (customized and named by the player) looks down from his apartment to see drug dealings, domestic abuse, and cops being bribed. Kenyon, his best friend, barges into the apartment to discuss a scheme to finally move to a place downtown. The two discuss how they wish to escape poverty while hatching a plan to give themselves wealth. The plan ends up revolving around the rival gangs of Peachland, the red-clad East Street Boys and the purple New Age Ryders. After a string of missions introducing The Player to members of both gangs, Kenyon, Jay (an ESB weapons expert), Ricardo (a NAR recruit) use resources to burn down and old bank. The plan would result in them robbing the cash inside and the owner making a large sum off the insurance. It turns out the man Kenyon made the deal with was an undercover detective. In a shoot-out with SWAT members inside the bank, only The Player escapes and the other three men are arrested. With both gangs after him, as they blame The Player for their members being arrested, he flees to the middle-to-upperclass neighborhood of Kingstree. There he immediately runs into Oswald, a drug dealer working in Kingstree. Oswald lets The Player stay at his place in exchange for helping him out with drug trafficking. This allows the Player to meet a slew of characters in Kingstree including Kate, a soccer mom with ties to the mafia, James and Allyson, a trailer park couple who won the lottery yet still fight like they are white trash, and Kiki, a black female lawyer whose minority positions force her to use outside sources to win cases. While gaining wealth in the drug industry, a member of the police calls The Player to ask them to give up Oswald in exchange for his friends. If The Player does, Oswald is arrested and The Player must fight off East Street Boys and New Age Ryders members. If The Player stays by Oswald's side, the two must fight off SWAT members, resulting in Oswald's death. The choice determines how other characters interact with the player, with most looking down on him if he allows Oswald to be arrested and refusing to speak to him. Regardless of which choice The Player makes, he is ordered to the upper class Downtown district of Peachland. There he learns that the police are run by the mafia, who view the lower class street gangs as possible threats. Grant, the police chief and mafia don, gives him a string of missions to build up the police force through illegal means. Downtown The Player meets Kenny, a DJ at one of the radio stations who wants to break out on his own, T.S., an aged award-winning journalist of the city's newspaper who is an avid drug abuser, and Jackson, a young self-made millionaire who feels the pressure of the corrupt around him. After The Player assassinates an aging congressman, Grant finally releases Kenyon, Jay, and Ricardo, and orders them to flee back to Trafford. Ricardo and Jay talk to their respective gangs and explain to them that The Player is innocent. The fourth act of the game depends on the choice of The Player. After arriving in Trafford, Grant calls The Player and asks them to help in taking out the East Street Boys and the New Age Ryders for good. After speaking to Kenyon, who says this might be their last chance to make it in the city, The Player must decide to either help Grant and the mafia, or take out the corrupt police force. If The Player chooses take out the gangs, then he and Kenyon work with the mafia to rid the gangs from Trafford, resulting in the deaths of Jay and Ricardo and The Player's contacts refuse to even speak to him. The final mission revolves around chasing the fleeing gang leaders across the city. Before their executions, they both ask The Player and Kenyon if it was worth it. In the epilogue, taking place in a mansion overlooking the lake, The Player and Kenyon decide corrupting oneself to become successful is the worst thing one can do. If The Player chooses to get revenge on Grant, his past contacts help him out by giving him supplies to infiltrate the police headquarters. The street gangs work together to help Kenyon and The Player gain supplies to break into the HQ. In the final mission, The Player, Kenton, Jay, and Ricardo fight through the police station, shoot mafia members out of the skyscraper and onto the ground outside, download proof of the mafia's control over the city and send it to T.S., and chase Grant across the city. Surrounded, Grant tells them that they will never amount to anything more than gangbangers before being shot by The Player. In the epilogue, the East Street Boys and New Age Ryders make a truce, The Players contacts interact with one another at a party at Oswald's house, and Kenyon and The Player decide it would not have been worth it to sell themselves out to a corrupt force. Soundtrack While driving, players have a choice of 6 stations to listen to: 89.7 The Zone - Talk Radio "The Zone News" - News station starring Anchorman Adam Bridges (played by Seth Meyers) and On-Scene Reporter Michelle McMayland (Lisa Kudrow) "Preaching to the Choir" - Religious call-in parody starring Rev. Michael Jones (CM Punk) "The Jock Strap" - Sports show starring "Big" Willie Bearnhart (Michael Rapaport) and Devarius Johnson (Terrell Owens) "Britney's Lunch Hour" - Talk show starring Britney Weinman (Amanda Bynes) and various guests (including Kevin Hart, Kel Mitchell, Ron White, Noah Antwiler, and Derek Stephen Prince) Each show receives new material as the game progresses. The Fresh 92.7 - Alternative Rock with DJ Kenny "Little Talks" - Of Monsters and Men "Gives You Hell" - All-American Rejects "Rockstar" - Nickelback "Kill Your Heroes" - AWOLNATION "Hang Loose" - Alabama Shakes "Levitate" - Hollywood Undead "Memories" - Weezer "Break Stuff" - Limp Bizkit "Narcissistic Cannibal" - Korn ft. Skrillex and Kill the Noise "In One Ear" - Cage the Elephant KISS 94.5 - Club Hits with Andy V "Stronger" - Kelly Clarkson "Carry On" - Fun. "Lights" - Ellie Goulding "Calvin Harris" - Feel So Close "Ridin' Solo" - Jason Derulo "Break Your Heart" - Taoi Cruz "Dancing on My Own" - Robyn 97.3 WRQV - Hip Hop with Ricky Smiley "Vava Voom" - Bassnectar ft. Lupe Fiasco "Poetic Justice" - Kendrick Lamar "S.D.S." - Mac Miller "Pursuit of Happiness" - Kid Cudi ft. MGMT and Ratatat "Hardknock" - Joey BADA$$ ft. CJ Fly "Am I A Psycho" - Tech N9ne ft. B.o.B. and Hopsin "Lighters" - Bad Meets Evil "Just a Friend" - Biz Markie "Till I Get There" - Lupe Fiasco 99.9 Classics - Classic Rock with Joe Walsh "Heir of the Dog" - Nazareth "Detroit Rock City" - KISS "In The City" - Joe Walsh "Live Wire" - Mötley Crüe "Radar Love" - Golden Earring "Big Balls" - AC/DC "Shook Me All Night Long" AC/DC "Legs" - ZZ Top "Freewill" - Rush "Fly By Night" - Rush 104.4 Good Times - 60s and 70s Hits with Duke "Grease" - Frankie Valli "Touch Me" - The Doors "Tell Me Something Good" - Rufus and Chaka Khan "Love Rollercoaster" - Ohio Players "Time of the Season" - The Zombies "California Dreamin'" - The Mamas and The Papas "Sunshine of Your Love" - Cream "Somebody to Love" - Jefferson Airplane "Play That Funky Music" - Wild Cherry "Superstition" - Stevie Wonder Reception Survival In The City recieved positive to mixed reviews upon release. Critics all unaniomously agreed that the story is one of the best that gaming has to offer, but the shooting and driving mechanics offered nothing original, and felt similar to other games of the genre. However, the scope and open world was also praised. The game currently holds an 8.2 consumer score on Metacritic. IGN "Survival In The City is an open-world action-adventure game brought to us by Tanoshii Urban Entertainment. It's a long, story-driven game that sees the rise of your player from the slums of the city as he tries to fight his way out of poverty. It's a strong tale, and one that's an experience you don't want to miss. Moral choices add to the equation, and ask you just how you want to see your rise to the highest of the city, and whether you can retain any morals in doing so. The dark secrets of the city are unraveled as you rise through the city in a fit of gang rivalry and corrupt police. The game itself is best described in one word: fun. In the beginning, it's amazing to just drive around the city, and it's impressive that the game runs as well as it does. However, as the game trudges through its 30-hour campaign, the missions do begin to feel bland and repetitive, as the shooting and driving becomes constant enough to cause the feeling of playing through just to progress the story. The story, however, is absolutely intriguing and keeps you guessing until the end. Aided in the story are some fairly impressive graphics, especially considering the game's size. The multiplayer can either be quite enjoyable, or an absolute rage-fest at times. In the end, this is a game where the story outweighs all the mechanics, and is worth playing for that reason alone. The gameplay itself isn't bad, but it's nothing special either, and by the end, the mechanics do get repetitive. Still, few stories are this engrossing, and this is one you don't want to miss." OVERALL SCORE: 7.5/10 GAMESPOT "Survival In The City offers a lot as an open world game. Though it's not fundamentaley different than your Grand Theft Auto or Saints Row gameplay-wise, the story is the driving force here, easily topping anything offered by the two prior mentions. A compelling tale of what it takes to make a name for yourself, and rise up through poverty and wealth without losing yourself in the process, it's a story many games attempt, but often lose themselves on about halfway through. Survival In The City goes the opposite direction, not filling itself with meaningless story-filler, but instead amping up the tension and stakes at a slow-burn pace, so when the big payoff happens (dependant upon your choice), you really feel like you've become this character. It's incredible. Of course, the gameplay that accompanies it is good at first, but drags towards the end, lacking in variety. However, the story easily makes it worth playing, and there are some good side-missions throughout, as well. The multiplayer, while unnecessary, provides a sometimes-worthwhile distraction from the campaign as well. Survival In The City is certainly a late best game contender in my book." OVERALL SCORE: 8.0/10 GAMETRAILERS "Survival In The City, you've got a hell of a lot going for you. The story is quite possibly the best thing seen in a good 10, 15 turns here in Game Sim. I just can't help but wonder about the gameplay choice. The open world feels...well, artificial, at times. And the lack of strong shooting or driving makes this game feel restricted, like it's being held back on the gameplay front. The story pushes it on, but the gameplay holds it back, and by the end, detracts from the overall experience. It's not -BAD- shooting or driving, just unremarkable at best. It manages to push the game onwards, though, and does a decent job at it. The multiplayer can be fun, provided you don't get a bunch of morons playing. The music's good, graphics are great, and the story is as compelling as the best films that mirror the genre. I love quite literally everything except the shooting or driving mechanics, but when those are the secondary focus next to the story, it stings a little bit more than if we were discussing mechanics for a mission or two. Still, don't less this one fall off your radar." OVERALL SCORE: 7.0/10 Category:Games